Town boss Mick McCarthy denied that he told the Blues’ travelling support to "f*** off" when celebrating skipper Luke Chambers’s goal during the 1-1 derby draw against Norwich City at Carrow Road.

TV footage appeared to show McCarthy gesture and shout towards the away fans in the Jarrold Stand after Chambers had given the Blues the lead in the 89th minute. Timm Klose equalised for the home side in the fifth minute of injury time.

Earlier fans had been chanting, "Mick McCarthy, your football is s***" following a 79th minute substitution.

Asked whether his reaction was aimed towards supporters, he dismissed the suggestion: “Just celebrating the goal.”

Pressed further on it looking like he was telling fans to ‘f*** off’, he added: “You’re putting words in my mouth. No, just the game, celebrating the [goal].”

So it wasn’t a reaction to fans’ earlier chants aimed towards him? “A reaction to the game, I want to win the game and we didn’t.”

Was he frustrated by the fans’ chants when he swapped Dominic Iorfa for Jordan Spence rather than making a more attacking change?

Safe to say Mick McCarthy enjoyed that goal.... pic.twitter.com/ZGoFMr4r7q– Irish Football Pics (@irish_pics) February 18, 2018

“Jordan Spence came on because Dominic Iorfa was cramping up,” he said. “That’s my tactical substitution and making the subs we have to make, I do my job as I see fit.”

Does he think fans didn’t appreciate the situation of needing a defensive replacement at that point?

“Well, it’s funny that I’m answering questions like that. If we’d come off and we’d won instead of them equalising it would have been so different, wouldn’t it? It’s sad that you’re having to ask me those questions. I’m not bothered, I do my job as I see fit I think and I do it particularly well actually.”

Asked whether he is concerned that his relationship with supporters is permanently fractured, he added: “Not really, no. I keep doing my job and doing it as best as I possibly can.”

But once a rift of that type appears it’s difficult to turn around, isn’t it? “Winning games overcomes it, so we’ll see what Wednesday [and the home game with Cardiff] brings, shall we?”

Asked again whether he told the fans to f*** off, he reiterated: “Just emotions at the game.”

As for the game itself, McCarthy was pleased with the display if not conceding the late, late equaliser: “I thought we did well. It was a really good performance and we’ve just let our guard down in the 95th minute, wherever they came from.

“Of course [the goal] could have been prevented. We might have blocked the ball in the box, we might have won the first header, we might have followed him out instead of Bart following him, I think that was just a bit of confusion.

“That’s how goals come about. I’m sure they’ll look at ours and think somebody should have been marking Chambo closer, no pun intended.”

Did the game go to plan? “I thought it was a really good performance in the first half as an attacking threat, as an offensive threat.

“And I thought in the second half when it got really tough those players were blocking and tackling and working hard, and Bart made a couple of saves. And I knew that would be the case. I was delighted with my team’s performance today.”

Reflecting further, he added: “I was pleased with the team’s performance, all of them. Stephen Gleeson has not played that much football so that’s why he was replaced with Lukey Hyam who, to be fair, has probably got more legs than he has and we needed that in the midfield. I was pleased with them all, I think they played well.”

He was pleased with the way Cole Skuse too care of James Maddison in the first half, although the Canaries youngster made more of an impression after the break.

“I thought in the first half certainly,’ McCarthy added. “Second half, he’s a very good player and you’ve got to take care of him.

“And pretty much we did, he had two freekicks he hit the target with but overall, up until the 95th minute, a job well done.”

Regarding the change to a 3-5-2 system, he said: “It was for today, might be for Wednesday and it might be for Saturday, but the system and the tactical changes worked today.”

The switch allowed him to get both Adam Webster and Cameron Carter-Vickers into side but equally means other players have to miss out.

“It does but it gets Santie out and it gets somebody else out, so there are the dilemmas. You can’t play everybody.”

Despite the criticism aimed towards him by Town fans, it was pointed out that the Blues are still ahead of Norwich on goal difference.

“We are, I think if I’d been given £100 million over the last three years I think I could have been languishing in 13th as well,” he added.

Norwich manager Daniel Farke felt the match was “a typical derby”.

He said: “Much aggressiveness, many duels. Some crazy things happened and then a lot of emotions with conceding what looked a determining goal and then the celebration in the 95th minute. There was an explosion at Carrow Road.

“To be honest, after this second half normally it is ridiculous to have one point. I thought it was a close first half but in the second half we had 75 per cent possession, we had 13 shots on goal to their one shot, one header that went in for them.

“We had James Maddison with two freekicks, Nelson Oliveira with three shooting chances, Timm was two metres out and missed his kick. Normally you must be sad just to have a draw.

“Sometimes small things make the difference. We gave away a freekick in the 88th minute with a young player who was a bit naïve. Ipswich is the best team on set pieces in the league. From the freekick came the corner and from the corner the goal.

“I just can’t praise the reaction and the mentality of my boys enough. It feels like a bit of a winner. So important for our club and supporters and us as a group.”

Photo: TWTD

blueboy1981 added 20:38 - Feb 18 wayway ..... don't hold your breath waiting for anything resembling a sensible, logical answer. It won't be forthcoming.
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warktheline added 20:59 - Feb 18 Don't kid yourselves ! Swn is truly serious in regards to his 'messiah' McCarthy! He values 'his man' above his own club!
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Morgan added 20:59 - Feb 18 I can't understand the moral outrage at MM's response to people who have seranaded him on Sky at Carrow Road with ‘f-off, your football is sh1t' after substituting an injured right back for a fit right back, in a game were he first half out manoeuvred his opposite number. I doubt the children in the crowd were that traumatised by it, they were too busy swinging from light fightings in the concourse.

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warktheline added 21:02 - Feb 18 Internet connection swn! What planet are you on! Same as McCarthy's I here you say!
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itfcbam added 21:06 - Feb 18 This will prompt - votes but don't care. IF in fact it is aimed at fans, and there is no way of proving 100%, who are most on here to blub. Many are so hypocritical on here it's untrue. There has been endless vile posts about him for years yet people cry as soon as he doesn't just accept it, which started long before he reacted. I'm not justifying his reaction however, how many of you would be a little hacked if in your job you performed better than your budget (remember he is working off a budget around 18th) yet get constantly abused for it. I'm not saying he is right and I do believe a change is needed as the club is now toxic. But many have double standards and are not 100% innocent in this.

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muhrensleftpeg added 21:11 - Feb 18 Having spent the last few years not commenting on this site, but reading everyone's comments with great interest, today's events have proved too much and so I feel compelled to join in. I hope I speak with some knowledge having been brought up in a football household (my father played for our wonderful football club in the early 1960s), although I don't in any way claim to be an expert. Firstly I say this to those who think it's ok for McCarthy to behave in the way that he has towards us supporters (not just today, by for the last 3 or so years) because he's getting a lot of stick and it's therefore ok to give it back, I believe you are misguided. When you are put in a position of responsibility, one of the prerequisites for the job is that you behave with dignity, making sure you represent the club in the best way possible in whatever you do, particularly in the public domain. This should be irrespective of how much provocation you receive, because as the manager of the great Ipswich Town Football Club, that is what is expected of you. He has singularly failed in this respect. What he did today was tit for tat, what a child would do because they know no better, and not the professional behaviour which is the very least we should expect from our manager. It is just another instance that confirms that he doesn't understand the privileged position he is in, and how lucky he is. He has never understood Ipswich Town, and simply never will. We are not another Sunderland or Wolves, we are a club who has statues of Sir Alf and Sir Bobby outside our ground, one of only 12 British clubs who have managed to win the FA Cup, the League and a major European competition. Quite simply, McCarthy has significantly contributed to our club being a pale shadow of it's former self, and a shameful embarrassment. That leads me to my next point. Some appear to think it's ok that we are dished up the most appalling, hoofball football because McCarthy has done well without any funds and we should be careful what we wish for. However, football is littered with stories about clubs being successful because they believed in a proper football philosophy that didn't need huge finances, just proper coaching and unwavering belief in a style of play which first and foremost must entertain its customers (Eddie Howe at Bournemouth springs immediately to mind). This includes bringing on younger players, teaching them to pass the ball to each other - playing the Ipswich Town way. That is the way it happened when my father played for our great club, and again under Sir Bobby, George Burley and Joe Royle, and that's the way it should be now. I can think of many managers which I would prefer to be our manager including Garry Monk, Mark Warburton, Marco Silva. Let's hope MM goes asap or even better, he shows some dignity and walks away himself. My last point is that I find the notion that some have made on this site, that because we criticise our club, sometimes even our manager in a public place, means that we are not true supporters, because we should support the club and all of those who are part of it whatever happens. My father gave up his season ticket half way through last season because he could no longer stomach watching the absolute garbage served up by McCarthy's team. This is a man who is Ipswich through and through and is a real supporter who actually played for the club he loves. Being a supporter does not mean following a club blindly, passively allowing everything to happen around us without any criticism. If you support a club, you have to be prepared to engage both positively and negatively with the club in order to try to make it better for all of us. Being a supporter doesn't mean being a groupie like for a rock group, it means you care deeply about the club, and being part of it is not just another form of bland entertainment (or not if you watch a Mick McCarthy side), but it is embedded in your soul. That means making sensible, well though though, critical comment is a perfectly valid thing to do. MM is therefore just not up to the job, neither professional or tactically and has a management style that should have been left in the 1970s. He's already caused untold damage to our club and today's events provide Evans with enough to dismiss him forthwith. Please can we have our club back!

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TonyMowbray added 21:14 - Feb 18 Thanks for all your efforts Mick, but come on, time to step aside and let someone else have a crack. If it has got to the point that you feel the need to be abusive toward your own supporters than that alone should tell you that it is time to go. Of course there was pressure but that is a disgrace.
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BlueMachines added 21:16 - Feb 18 I will be emailing my complaint to the club tomorrow about that behaviour representating our club. Again. I suggest you all do the same.
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tractorcolls added 21:22 - Feb 18 "Didn't tell the travelling ITFC fans to F off ??" . I've come to the conclusion he is either short sighted or blind as he probably thought it was the Norwich fans singing "your football is sh#t" and thought he was aiming it at them. That's why he thinks we play open, expansive, attractive football and why all of his post match analysis is shockingly bad. It must be a money orientated decision why this man is still at our club. Any self respecting Chairman would have got rid months ago but this has to be the final straw. P45 in the morning. I'll be waiting for the yellow breaking news banner along the bottom of the Sky Sports screen tomorrow Mr Evans!!

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Gcon added 21:23 - Feb 18 How is it the wider football community can all see that the problem with ITFC is the gross mis-funding of the club by a faceless owner, and yet those on here choose to ignore it? Is it because the manger is honest and direct and has the confidence to stand up for himself when he's unjustly disparaged? How pathetic is it that people moaned their faces off that Iorfa was in the team then berated the manager for taking him off? If you are not big enough to take the stick, then don't dish it out - Poor little snowflakes...

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Gcon added 21:25 - Feb 18 Bluemachines - Grow up. I am guessing you were the school snitch, too...
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BlueMachines added 21:30 - Feb 18 One crucial point. Mick is (sadly) paid to represent the club. His actions are indefensible. There can be no argument that he was telling someone to F... Off. he said he was just celebrating the goal. Who celebrates by shouting F Off? Not only that but the gesturing was as obscene as the language. If it was at the Town fans then it's bad as he is doing that against the club's fans. If it wasn't at the town fans then it must've been at the people of Norwich. Which is as equally unacceptable. His pride has taken a battering here at ITFC and the sooner he goes the sooner we can lol move on and hopefully for us upwards (or at least forwards) too

7

SheptonMalletBlue added 21:31 - Feb 18 Warmth epinephrine, didn't mean to minus you!
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BlueMachines added 21:32 - Feb 18 Gcon. Grow up? My points are balanced, well thought through and justified. Name calling is rather immature. I suggest you take heed of your own advice.
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Trojan added 21:57 - Feb 18 Let's just try and not let this situation get totally out of control, I thought we played well today and the strategy was a good one. Although I accept that Mick needs to stop being so bloody stubborn and pull together with the fans but he also needs the support and direction of our anonymous chairman.
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minesapint added 21:58 - Feb 18 Lip-reading is a skill acquired after a great deal of time, study and practice. No one attacking MM has indicated their qualifications in the field. The F-word is problematic because the vowel is pronounced differently by East Anglians and Yorkshire folk, and the relative lip movements are radically different. I have a Master's degree in applied linguistics, so I know what I'm talking about. Substitutions: Garner was already booked and in danger of getting a second yellow while McGoldrick is hardly a defensive option; a midfielder who hasn't played a match of such intensity for ages is likely to struggle towards the end; Spencer came on and was instrumental in our goal. The sensitive souls who are so offended by MM's straight talking would do well to seek help from professionals. As for those who use the anonymity of these comments to heap abuse upon him, I would love to see them face to face with the big man.

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onemarcusstewart added 22:10 - Feb 18 Mines a pint can you help everyone with his sign language. We need someone qualified to give us poor dilinquents a professional opinion on this. Lol
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dirtydingusmagee added 22:12 - Feb 18 Muhrensleftpeg excellent post .
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blackcat added 22:14 - Feb 18 And on the Legend Bobby Robson's Birthday You are a disgrace MM get gone,only a few will bother going to any games soon Worst manager ever and we have had some sxxt in recent years
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dirtydingusmagee added 22:19 - Feb 18 minesapint , your degree must have been awarded in error if you cant see what was said.
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Suffolk_n_Good added 22:43 - Feb 18 What makes me laugh, is all these McCarthy lovers saying, “if you're offended that easily” don't think I've read even one post on here where someone has said they were offended?! It's not about an individual being offended, it's about McCarthys attitude towards the fans, it's not the first time he's sworn at us, he may well be frustrated at the chanting aimed at him, but he gets paid handsomely to deal with it, & if he hates us that much, he knows what he can do, doesn't he...

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FromIpswichToPhoenix added 22:58 - Feb 18 We're done at this point. If we've fallen this far, there is no coming back from it.
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Spanishblueblood added 23:04 - Feb 18 The thing i find most amazing is that there are people condoning MM's behavour. Imagine you worked in a supermarket and effed at all the customers over the tannoy......do you think you would still have a job? Of course not, the foul mouthed dino should be sacked first thing tomorrow! SwNorwich, thought you had gone, oh no....you were bound to chirp up after a last min equaliser! MICK OUT NOW!

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blue75 added 03:25 - Feb 19 Muhrensleftpeg Excellent post agree with every point.
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braveblue added 05:21 - Feb 19 Can't believe people are say you need to be a qualified lip reader to be certain. What world do they live in?
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